Bare Walk
Exploring the familiar location, the beauty of the well-known to the residents of the city, the park enables to see the scene from a new angle. Fashion and nature present a merge of the fast-changing trends with the everlasting elements, which please the sense of aesthetic. Patterns on the fabric, the burst of color of the outfits, the extravagant combination of the chosen pieces presented by Jisoo Kim, the stylist, are organically aligned with the background, nature.
Jae min Kim, the photographer, was working in the challenging conditions of the quick sunset, eventually resuming the shot under the streetlights. Jae min Kim and Jisoo Kim discuss with us some of the stressful moments while creating the fashion story: the lack of time, the limited light during a short winter day, the cold of the season in Seoul.
Bare Walk offers a contrast between the gloomy winter day and the visual warmth the styling displays. Some of the clothes were designed for the graduation projects by students, eventually merged with brands XIDOZU and DONG LYUNG. The statues, an additional recurring element, produce a parallel between the world of humans and allusion to the heritage of culture.
Photographer Jae min Kim Stylist Jisoo Kim Directing Bah No Hair Gwang Hyo MUA So Hyun Park Models Hye Jeong Lee Min sung Ryu Seo Yoon Eum Casting East Casting
Fashion Brands XIDOZU DONG LYUNG
Clothes
Woo jin Kim, Woo suk lee, ha min Jeon
‘At first, I wanted to work on the theme of walking. I was thinking about what could be a more interesting way to express a walk, and I came up with the word 'barefoot.’
The topic of the story is Bare Walk. What does bare walking stand for you, what it represents?
At first, I wanted to work on the theme of walking. I was thinking about what could be a more interesting way to express a walk, and I came up with the word 'barefoot.' In this editorial, barefoot manifests freedom. I wanted to present people freely mixed in nature.
‘We started with the idea that it would be fun to use the sculptures as fashion works juxtaposing this to people just passing by them.’
Let’s discuss the location: the park you chose to make a shoot in and the specific statues which are featured in the frames. You’re creating a parallel between the statue and the model by using a certain element as an accessory or working with hair to resemble that of the statue. What was the main narrative you were building?
We can often see a park with statues. We started with the idea that it would be fun to use the sculptures as fashion works juxtaposing this to people just passing by them.
‘The line between staged photography and documentary is a blurry one. The majority of my work is staged, and the people I photograph aren’t really themselves in the work if that makes sense. The final image is more representative of me, even though I’m not the one in the picture.’
Styling is exquisite aligning clean, minimalistic cuts and monochromatic colors with edgy nuances as patterns. What are some brands you worked with, and what was the type of character you wanted to create?
I always wanted to style with something new, even if it's not necessarily a luxury brand or a famous brand. For this editorial, I borrowed the graduation works of college students and also clothes from XIDOZU. I think I was able to produce good results as those students' works were so cool.
‘I do photograph a lot of stereotypes, and I generally amp these stereotypes up a notch or two.’
From the technical perspective of shooting during the day and then continuing to the late evening - what were some challenges you faced?
The shooting was very busy for us. The weather was getting cold, and in the winter, the sunset is faster in Seoul. So it was a quick shooting. We ended up using the light of the streetlights, haha.
Which moment from this project is most precious to you?
Jisoo: The sun was short, but we had a lot of outfits for this set. So all the team members were in a rush to film. Everyone worked hard as if during an emergency, fortunately, we could finish with a little light. The last scene is a scene where models pose like dinosaurs next to the statue, which is also witty and memorable. I'm thankful to all the team members who were with us for this shoot.
Jae min: For the shooting, we had an additional concept for hair. But we were short on time, so we had to cancel it. I really wanted to add more hair, so we got to an emergency meeting. The team was very kind, and we decided to add the hair even though there was no time.
